Cold Case s03e10 Episode Script

The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.
December 1, 2001 Mrs.
Edino, I'm gonna put in an extra side of roasted peppres for you.
Oh, Ricardo made them? She won't eat my peppers any more.
Even if they're free it has to be you made 'em.
Sorry, Frank.
- Oh, there you are.
- Hey, Dad.
Tommy, see if there's any meat sauce.
- The spicy stuff.
- OK.
Did I tell you about the night classes Tommy's takin'? Computers at the junior college? The kid's just in high school but he's thinkin' ahead.
- College level classes.
- Oh, he's a smart guy.
Frank, my daughter has a friend you'll like.
- A divorcee but very slender.
- I'm real busy.
Oh, Lydia, God rest her soul, has been gone over a year.
It's time, Frank, you need a wife! Have a good day, ladies.
Hey, why not go on a date? I'm busy, that's why.
Hey, there you go, King.
That dog is the wife.
Hey, can it, you two.
CLOSED Dec.
'01 DiCenzio, F.
Heard a rumor that Kat Miller from narcotics is coming to homicide.
Where'd you hear that? I've got sources.
Detectives! Gabby Wise, Public Deffender's.
Remember me? Oh, the Lopez case.
Sure.
This is Paulo Munoz.
- Lilly Rush.
- Mucho gusto.
Scott Valens.
Mucho gusto.
Paulo's brother Ricardo was convicted of robbing and killing his boss back in 2001.
I represented him.
But Ricardo, he did not do this crime.
That is why I come here.
To help.
The trial was four years ago.
It took Paulo that long to get through the post 9-11 customs maze.
Where are you from, Paulo? El Salvador.
Ricardo has money when the police come so they say he robs.
Where'd he get that cash? He lives with 6 men in a basement.
So he holds his money on his body.
No other place is safe.
Ricardo sent me a letter, before Frank dies.
Says Frank is scared.
Scared of what? He didn't have it at trial but Ricardo always said that someone broke into Frank's apartment before he was killed.
You follow up on it? No.
The thing is I was hoping you could take this over.
It's our job to put people back in jail, not get them out.
Ricardo was my first murder case, I was overwhelmed and I really think I failed him.
He deserves more this time.
More than I can give him.
Tienes hermanos? What is he asking? If I got brothers.
Yeah.
I do.
- Paulo, the detective's really busy.
- I know Ricardo inside.
Same as you know your brothers.
He's innocent.
Can you help me? Help my brother.
We can try.
- What is this? - Could he be alone? Hey! This baby belong to anybody? Maybe someone went inside for a minute? Who leaves a baby sittin' alone? Let's talk to the desk.
- Hey, Dubitsky.
- Yeah.
Some idiot left their kid just outside the entrance.
Well the main elevator's broke.
Maybe they didn't want to lug it up the stairs.
It? You mean the baby? Just keep an eye on him until whoever parked him comes back.
Oh, no.
No, don't make me the chump.
Look, I'm sure you'll handle it just fine.
And when they show up, you tell them they're lucky we didn't call DHS.
Frank DiCenzio, 49, owned the deli where Ricardo Munoz worked.
Cause of death, blunt force trauma.
Some kind of adhesive residue on the wounds, weapon was a long flat object, never recovered.
Ricardo Munoz had no alibi, had access to the deli and a thousand dollars on him when the police found him.
About the same amount they figured was missing from the till.
The guy couldn't get a bank account.
Lived with 6 guys in tight quarters so he kept the cash on him.
He sent it to his wife and kids every month.
It's the same as my granddad.
Letter's in Spanish.
It says there was some kind of break-in at Frank's apartment.
Ricardo felt Frank was in danger.
Frank report this break-in? Uh, no.
Not sure why, maybe Ricardo can tell us.
You think Ricardo was railroaded, Scotty? If we take away the robbery aspect, motive's weak.
Frank was his meal ticket.
An illegal immagrant, alone, no money, I just thought we could give it another look.
Let's see if we can get some traction on this new information, the break-in at Frank's.
We'll talk to Ricardo up in Graterford.
We're gonna need something solid on this to keep goin'.
Of course.
New detective comin' in today, Kat Miller from narcotics.
How'd you meet Frank? I came here because I heard there's more jobs than in New York.
But for months, nothing.
Then I saw a help sign in Frank's Deli's window.
And how'd you two get along? First he was a good boss.
Then he was a good friend.
Never any fights between the two of you? Never.
He always helped me.
Always listened to me.
Why would I kill Frank? Your letter said Frank had a break-in, right before he died.
It was not just a break-in.
It was an attack.
I told police but no one cared about it.
An attack? On who? It was two weeks before he died.
Ah, made too much food.
I thought with the holidays comin' up we'd be busier.
Tomorrow there will be more people.
Your pasta salad is bad, boss.
Too much garlic.
What you don't know about pasta salad is a lot.
King sleeps like an old man.
Wanna stay, Have some dinner? I see you all day.
Come on, sit down.
Tommy's in school at night, it'd be nice to have company.
How's the family? You called them today, right? My daughter is angry with me now, because I am so far away.
She's too young to understand that everything we do is for out kids.
King? King? You here buddy? King.
Oh, my God.
What the hell happened to you? - Frank, he needs a hospital.
- Yeah.
Yeah, there's a vet on the boulevard open all night.
Who Who would've done this? - Let me help you, OK? - OK.
Alright King, Let's go buddy.
When I tell them, the police say it's just a dog.
But Frank thought it was someone trying to mess with him.
Scare him.
And did he have any idea who? He said he didn't know.
Why didn't Frank report it? Nothing was broken.
Nothing gone.
And the door was locked.
So it wasn't really a break-in.
Someone had a key.
What about his son? Tommy.
Frank said someboday else got a key somehow.
And what'd you think? Tommy was the only one I knew with a key.
What makes you so sure this was connected to Frank's death? Two bodies in two weeks.
Beaten and beaten.
Like someone can not stop.
My dad was like the mayor of Oxford Circle.
Everybody loved the guy.
Were you surprised when Ricardo was arrested? At first, yeah.
My dad was always good to him.
It makes me sick just thinkin' about that lowlife.
Why're you guys askin'? We're maybe reopening the case.
See anything the night your father died? No, I had a junior college class.
It was supposed to help me get an edge career-wise.
See how much good that did me.
We heard someone got into the apartment two weeks before your dad died.
Beat the dog up pretty bad.
That's got nothing to do with what happened to my dad.
- Trust me.
- How do you know that? - I know, OK? - How, Tommy? Thank God for the all night vet.
The cat went out on to our balcony and P.
S, we're on the third floor so I figure, she's not gonna jump.
- The cat jumped? - Worse.
She fell.
How stupid does a cat have to be for that? What happened to yours? I think someone got into our apartment.
- Went after King.
- They hit the dog? Bad.
The vet's operatin' on him now.
Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.
Dad.
What happened? King's in pretty bad shape Tommy.
It could be a while till we hear anything.
- I can stay.
- Oh, you gotta be kidding me.
Why is Stump even here? I thought you said we were gonna hang after you saw your dad.
He said King's in pretty bad shape.
Come on, that mutt got what it deserved.
What did you just say? Nothin', Mr.
DiCenzio.
It's all good.
You stay the hell away from my son and my dog.
I told you.
I don't want you hangin' around with this punk.
You understand? Wuss.
I haven't talked to Stump in years.
I can see why.
The guy sounds a little psycho.
My dad always hated him.
You know, said his mom was a druggie, whole family was trouble.
Sounds like Frank thought Stump beat the dog.
- Yeah, he did.
The worst part is he could've been right.
How'd Stump get into the apartment? I didn't have a lot of friends after my mom died, Stump was it.
I gave him a set of keys so he'd have a place to hang out afternoons.
To do what? He got girlfriends.
And your father always worked.
Look, Stump was a messed up dude and yeah he might've hit the dog but there's no way in hell he hurt my dad, he wouldn't do that, he was my friend.
So this kid Stump beat up the dog? Well, sounds like it.
But Tommy was real insistent Stump didn't kill Frank.
Maybe a little too insistent.
If Stump did it, Tommy'd feel responsible, it'd be tough to face.
Nick "Stump" Fanelli's just out of jail.
Got a rap sheet a mile long.
Beat a neighbor with a baseball bat, whole list of other assaults dating back to December 2001.
Right after Frank's murder.
Detective.
I'm headin' out.
No one claimed this kid.
What? How's that possible? Maybe because there's so much good in the world? Nanette from records, put this bag together, said to give it to you.
Hey, hey hey, shh.
Hey, I'm gonna call DHS right now.
Right now.
Detective Vera, hey, Kat Miller.
- Yeah, real busy.
- Oh, busy, yeah.
Cute kid you got.
How are you Lieutenant? Detective Miller, welcome.
Dress code's a step up from narcotics.
Guess I'd better shop.
The clothes are more expensive but the pay's the same.
Welcome to homicide.
On the plus side there are all the dead bodies.
And the long hours.
I hope you cleared your social calendar.
I just got this thing I do Wednesday's at 7:00.
- OK.
Can't miss it.
Fair enough.
Find a pigeon hole and fill this out, I'll get you goin'.
It's biographical info for personal records.
I'm real glad to be here Lieutenant.
Thanks.
Hey, I've been staight since I got out of jail.
For a whole two weeks, huh, Stump? Come on.
What'd I do to deserve a visit? Remember a buddy of yours, Tommy DiCenzio? Yeah, of course, we met in computer class for JC retards.
Well you remember the family dog, big mutt, wouldn't hurt a fly.
Somebody beat him up pretty bad back then.
Heard maybe it was you.
You're here to ask me about a dog? What are you the canine police? Where were you the night Frank DiCenzio was killed? Whoa! I was at class.
You check it out and you'll see yourself.
And look even if I did hit that dog I didn't kill Frank.
That Spanish guy he's upstate for that.
We're takin' another look at the case.
If the guy didn't do it with his own hands, don't mean he wasn't responsible.
What're you talkin' about? Ricardo he brought some serious trouble into that deli, I saw it myself.
Where's Ricardo, chummy? He ain't here, Felix.
And he said he's gonna pay you so lay off.
Due date's long past and I have to keep stict rules about that you know.
Give the guy a break.
He's just tryin' to bring his family here.
I'm a business man like you.
My business is Felix's best.
Ricardo pays me soon or I start givin' out penalties.
- That's how I keep my business running.
- Yeah? And I call the cops and I tell them what you do to these people.
No you won't 'cause they'll just pull Ricardo back to El Salvador.
You're just lowlife scum preyin' on other people's predicaments.
Oh, that's very insulting, Frank.
I heard what you did to Ricardo's roommate, knockin' out his teeth, breakin' his jaw, you're a sick bastard.
I don't get my money, then there's two of you I'm gonna take care of now.
Who was this guy Felix? I'd never seen him before but he was a bad ass, I'll tell you that.
Tell anyone about it? Nah.
Frank, he was on my case all the time back then so I, I figured he deserved a little heat comin' his way.
OK, Stump.
We'll be in touch.
Well I'll be right here.
'Cause where else am I gonna go? - Stump's alibi clear? - Yup.
Checked the attendance records, both he and Tommy were in class the night Frank was killed.
And Ricardo was borrowing money from this Felix guy, a loanshark? Prestamista.
They help illegals in the community by givin' out loans.
Some of 'em deal, too.
Bad ones play by intimidation and violence.
Will you be able to track this guy down? I made some calls, couldn't get a hit.
The name Felix is kind of common, I guess.
Maybe reach out in the neighborhood where Ricardo lived.
Paulo could help with that, he's stayin' there.
Good.
Get him to take you around.
- Hey.
- I was thinkin' I should stay.
Keep an eye on the kid 'till DHS gets here.
Last time I handed him off Dubitsky gives him a stapler to play with.
You wanna hit Francisville? - Let's do it.
- All right.
The Bembe.
I busted this place once.
Ricardo's old neighbor would be here.
I might run into some old neighbors of my own.
Where's your family from? Dad's Cuban.
Mom's Puerto Rican.
Grew up about have a mile from here.
Your family must be proud of you.
I guess so, yeah.
Alla.
Felix.
You Felix Darosa? Yeah.
We got a few questions for you.
You guys aren't so good for business, you know.
So talk fast.
You know a Ricardo Munoz? Ricardo.
Munoz? Got put away for murderin' his boss, Frank DiCenzio.
Owed you some money.
I like to help sometimes when I can, enrich my community to the best of my ability.
The thing is Felix, we heard Frank's the one who tried to help Ricardo out.
And you weren't happy.
Said you'd have to take care of two people.
Ricardo's in jail, Frank's dead.
That's two people taken care of.
Frank wasn't a problem to me.
Him and Ricardo busted up.
A bad divorce.
And how do you know that? 'Cause I saw it with my own two eyes.
He sido muy paciente con tigo, ricardlito.
Pero ahora me estoy enojando.
Quepuedo hacer? Digame.
Por favor.
Frankie.
You forgot your keys.
And you're supposed to open up tomorrow.
Everything OK, Frank? I just saw you have the key to my apartment on your key ring.
Where'd you get this? You give it to me, when I start the job.
No.
I gave you the key to the deli.
I never gave you the key to my home.
Then I don't know how it gets there.
You took a long break that day King got beat up.
Did you go to my apartment, Ricardo? No.
I was with you when we found him.
But you were itchin' to get out of there as soon as we came in.
You always saying how I should leave the dog at home, he gets in the way.
Get out of here, Frank.
This is crazy.
We're done, Ricardo.
- You're fired.
- What? I don't know who the hell you are.
- He fired Ricardo? - That's right.
Ricardo say anything to you about where he got the key to Frank's place? Nothing.
But two days later, he paid me back.
The whole loan.
So I got no reason to bother anybody, you see.
All worked out good for me.
Sounds like Ricardo left out a major detail.
Did you know they fought? That Ricardo was fired? - No.
This is the only way I could get this whack-job to go to sleep.
Well, he's sleeping pretty sound now.
You should've seen it.
The later it got, the more energy he had.
It was nuts.
You remember Lindsey? Child Services.
- Sure.
Hey, Lindsey.
Sorry we couldn't send anybody last night.
We had a group home crisis.
But they found the mom.
So where's she been for the last 24 hours? She had a double-shift at work, the sitter canceled, - her brother got the baby.
- I guess he's troubled.
Dumped him on the way to a court appointment.
She gave her son to a head case? Well, we'll investigate.
Make sure the home's OK.
I hope so.
It seems like you got a knack for that stuff.
One night and I'm fried.
I'm glad Julie and I never had kids.
You didn't tell me Frank fired you, Ricardo.
It was not important.
He took me back the next day.
Well how about owin' money to Felix Darosa and him pushin' Frank around? That not important either? Frank talked to Felix? I didn't know! What else did'ya leave out that might make you look bad? - Nothing! Where'd you get the key to Frank's house? I didn't know that key was there.
You got pretty angry when Frank started askin' about it.
Felix was threatening me about money and then Frank comes and accuses me! I work hard every day, day after day and it's never enough! Is that why you snapped and killed Frank? No! Frank took me back, I told you! Well how'd you get the money to pay Felix? Frank loaned it to me! You got proof of that? No.
And I come all the way out here again.
- You just playin' me, ain't you? - Wait.
- Detective Valens! - Open up.
Por favor, the key, I promise you, I didn't put it there.
And Frank didn't.
Only one other person could have.
Tommy? Hey Tommy.
A couple questions popped up.
We thought you could help.
We found out there was a key on Ricardo's key ring to your apartment.
Any thoughts on how it got there? Yeah.
I put it there.
All these years I thought Ricardo was the one who killed my dad.
I wouldn't have done anything to help the guy but now you're saying that he didn't do it.
Why'd you put the key there, Tommy? It was when my dad was so obsessing over who got in and hit the dog.
And you knew it was Stump.
- So you were protecting your friend? - It's not just that, I was trying to get Ricardo fired, I mean, he was takin' advantage of my dad.
So you were watching out for you dad? Nobody else was going to.
Not easy.
Losin' a parent.
Tryin' to take care of the one you got left.
After my mom died, it was like he lost all his common sense or something.
- I mean, the people he picked.
- Friends? - Sorta.
- Like who? There was this one lady.
- It doesn't really matter.
- Well let us decide that.
I was a little concerned about her.
Tried to open his eyes.
It's been a while since I went on a date.
Should've bought a new suit.
These pants got a little too small.
Nobody wears suits anymore.
I wear suits.
It's respectful.
Maybe just a good sports jacket.
I got a navy blue one with nice buttons.
See if it's in the closet? So you going out with that lady Mrs.
Edino was talking about? Nah, it's the one I met at the vet.
Antonia.
Lives right around the corner.
- Her? - Yeah.
- You know her? - Ain't she married? Everytime I see her she's with this big bruiser lookin' guy.
No, she's seperated now.
Well, Must've just happened, Pretty soon to be dating.
- For both of you.
- Whoa.
You're the one that said I should go on a date.
Yeah but I didn't think you'd do it.
And this lady she's real loud and flashy.
She's not like mom.
No one's gonna be like your mom.
She was one in a billion.
Listen, I've been too wrapped up in work since mom I haven't been home enough.
I'm sorry about that.
Maybe we could start spending time together again, like the old days.
Yeah, we could do that father-son hockey league again, maybe.
There you go.
Just, be careful, OK? Don't worry about me, T.
I'm fine.
Is this Antonia the woman your dad met at the animal hospital? Yeah.
What about this bruiser ex of hers? What was his story? It was some sort of loony, You know, he stalked her after they split.
They used to have these fights in the streets.
Antonia and your dad going out, that rile up the crazy ex? Something bad must've happened.
He was home half an hour after he left.
Never said a word about it.
When did Frank go on this date? A few days before he was killed.
We asked around.
Heard your ex-husband wasn't the nicest guy, Antonia.
Well that's the understatement of the century.
What'd Ray do this time? Well that's what we're here to figure out.
Did he have a problem when you started dating? Gave me a hard time but he was the one who had two girlfriends when I'd packed up my last suitcase.
What's this about? You remember Frank DiCenzio? Of course I do.
Do you think Ray might've had a beef with Frank, considering the two of you went out? Trust me if Ray heard about my date with Frank, - he would've loved it.
- Why's that? 'Cause it was a total friggin' disaster.
Oh, you're sweet, you know that? So how's King doing? Better.
Got home a couple of days ago.
Bootsie's doing better too but she's missing all her front teeth which P.
S.
is not a pretty picture.
- Your son is Tommy, right? - Yeah.
Hard being a single parent, huh? Caitlin wears me down sometimes.
My wife, she was the one who knew how to talk to Tommy.
I try but I can't hold a family together like she did.
I'm gonna do better.
Teenagers can be hard to handle.
He had a tough time this year.
But he's a good kid.
I think I should tell you something about his friend Stump.
- You know him? I take Caitlin to skate on Monday nights, see him and Tommy playing hockey.
What? - The thing is, that kid Stump races around the ice, bullies the smaller kids.
Oh, you're mixin' him up with somebody else, they got computer classes on Monday.
I'm sure Frank.
And I heard Stump stole money from the snack stand, beat up the kid who works there.
Stump ain't that bad.
Tommy wouldn't put up with it.
I'm sorry if I.
Let's just forget it.
It's none of my business anyway.
You're damn right it's none of your business.
Excuse me? - You don't know what the hell you're talkin' about.
I gotta get out of here.
If my daughter was acting up out of my sight, I'd wanna hear about it.
Some people don't I guess.
So you saw Stump and Tommy every week? - Yup.
The poor kids on the ice were scared to death of that Stump.
Rink on Mondays, that means they could sneak out of class somehow.
There goes their alibis for the night of Frank's murder.
If Stump killed Frank, you think Tommy would protect him all this time? He would if he thought his life depended on it.
Well it must've felt pretty good.
Knockin' up that snack shop, beatin' that kid up.
The snack shop? We took like 30 bucks, it was no big deal.
So maybe you tried movin' up.
Stealin' from the deli.
You break in meaning just to skim a little cash but things go wrong.
Maybe Frank walks in, catches you? Frank? I have nothing to do with that, I told you.
I was at class that night.
No Stump, you weren't.
You were sneakin' out playin' hockey.
And residue on Frank's body matches sports tape.
The kind you put on a hockey stick.
This isn't right.
I've been gettin' on track.
Well your past is catching up on you.
It's not my past, it's his.
- His? - Tommy's.
Well from what we hear, Tommy just did whatever you said.
Yeah well everybody thought Tommy was the good guy.
But he had a whole other side.
After his mom died it was like a switch got flipped or somethin'.
How is that? He could get crazy.
And rage fits.
And he's the one that beat up that kid at the snack stand.
Scared him into keepin' his mouth shut.
What about Frank, who did that? Oh, stop protecting Tommy, he's no friend of yours.
What happened the night Frank was killed, Stump? We snuck out of class.
We were gonna have snacks and beers from the deli and then play a little hockey.
But things didn't go like we planned.
Ah, damn.
Your dad's here.
He can't hear us.
I'm sorry about everything.
You've been nothing but good for this place.
I get real emotional when it comes to King, - I got him with Lydia, you know? - It's OK, Frank.
You know, someday maybe we could be partners in this deli.
We'd make a great deli, Frank.
I'm proud to work here.
I had big plans that this would be a family business, that's why I work so hard.
I thought that Tommy was gonna be my partner one day, and now I'm not so sure.
I found somethin' out from the vet.
- What? - Forget it.
It doesn't matter.
You are like family to me, Frank.
So it is family business.
I feel the same way.
The fact is, I feel closer to you than my own kid.
Is that nuts or what? Let's go.
- So Tommy took the cash? - Yeah.
What did Frank mean he found something out from the vet? He probably found out that Tommy beat that dog up.
When Tommy got mad, it was like an explosion.
You should have seen him whalin' on that snack shop kid.
What'd you two do after you left the deli? We drank the beer, Tommy didn't want to play hockey, he just went home, he's all worked up.
I never saw Frank again.
And you've been coverin' for him ever since? I wasn't coverin' for him because he was my friend, I was coverin' for him because I didn't want to end up like Frank.
We're hearin' some things Tommy.
What things? Like you're the one that beat up the family pet.
That's crazy.
Actually it's pretty normal.
Havin' all that anger build up.
- I wasn't angry.
- Yeah? Then you're a stronger kid than I was.
After my dad left I was mad all the time.
Mostly at my mom.
My dad tried his best.
I don't know about that.
What's that supposed to mean? No, he's right Tommy.
Frank took care of the deli, he was real good with Ricardo but what about with you? He tried.
Come on, your dad left you high and dry after your mom died.
Like all he cared about was himself.
No, he was just busy, we both were.
Too busy for his own son? Sounds to me like he was a selfish little man who couldn't take care of his own family.
Hey, he was a great guy! The whole neighborhood loved him! The measure of a man is his family.
So your dad was a failure.
He wasn't a failure, you don't know him.
But he abandoned you.
And you were just a kid.
- He tried to help me.
- How? By ignoring you? If he loved you he'd pay attention, even get up in your face if he had to.
That's what he did, that's exactly what he did! So he confronted you.
Took you on.
Yes, he did pay attention.
Is that what got him killed? Grief can make you crazy, Tommy.
I know.
But I'm the failure.
Not dad.
Me.
Beer's gone.
Whole register's empty.
You must've known I'd see that.
It was Stump's idea.
Told him not to.
What about hockey on Mondays? - That Stump's idea too? - What? I know you've been sneakin' out of class, Tommy.
- One time.
Maybe two, it's no big deal.
And the vet called.
Told me that King wouldn't let you touch him the day you visited.
You beat him up, didn't you? No, I didn't! Stump did it.
This is my fault.
I've been a bad father.
I didn't reach out to you enough.
- It's fine, dad.
- No, it's not fine.
I think that there's somethin' wrong with you Tommy.
I lost my temper, OK, I made a sandwich and he grabbed it right off the table, I didn't mean to hurt him that bad.
Geez, Tommy, King was almost dead when we found him! I lost my temper, I told you! Look, there's places where they help kids with your kind of problems.
You had a hard year.
You wanna send me away to a school for some freaks? It's not for freaks, it's a place where you could go to get better.
Then you could come home.
We could work the deli together.
Have a future.
But I got Stump here.
It'd be good for the two of you to seperate for a while, trust me.
- No! That's not fair, you have everything, you've got the deli, the dog, Ricardo! I'm gonna have nothing! You got me and I got you! No matter what, T! I don't care about that! You can't do this to me, you can't! I'm not going away! You are my son, you'll do as I say! No! I won't!